...An epic hero is defined as a brave and noble character that is admired for great achievements and known for being a warrior (dictionary.com). There have been plenty of heroes over the course of time, but many believe the most popular Anglo- Saxon hero, Beowulf, most perfectly fits into this category and truly defines what it means. At all times, Beowulf is never afraid to put his life on the line for the sake and protection of his people, which helped him gain approval from the people of his area. Throughout the course of the adventure and journey, Beowulf exemplifies what it means to be an epic hero showing loyalty, courage, intelligence, and selflessness in his efforts to save his people and achieve immortality. Beowulf proves that he is a great Anglo-Saxon epic hero through his loyalty. Loyalty was held paramount by...
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...Beowulf is a great representation of what an epic hero is. Throughout the story, Beowulf is painted as a very brave and courageous hero. He is able to slay many monsters that most men in his world cannot fathom. In the poem of Beowulf, he is introduced as a brave, determined, and loyal hero, and it is shown through the heroic deeds he displays throughout the poem. Beowulf has shown readers his bravery by losing his life to fighting a dragon when many have cowered at the thought. He has willingly put himself in danger to protect his people.”I sold my life for this treasure and I sold it well”.(pg.59 ).This proves Beowulf as an epic hero because it is selfless to give one’s life to protect a city. Would an ordinary person give his life to save...
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...Is Beowulf An Epic Hero? Beowulf, an epic hero came from Geats to the rescue of Hrothgar. The Mighty king of Danes whose kingdom was getting ruined by an evil monster, Grendel. Beowulf eventually defeats Grendel by cutting his head off. He shows his strength and brut by killing grendel with his bare hands. However, beowulf ends up meeting grendels mother. They fight in her underwater lair. Beowulf amazingly holds his breath for one whole day. Grendels mother was on a war path to seek revenge which ended for her by beowulf finding a sword giants once used and slays her. He stabs her in the neck. After beowulfs victory he returns home to Geats, 50 years pass. Beowulf finds himself in one last battle.There is an evil dragon that threatens to destroy the people Beowulf was sworn to protect. Beowulf fails at first.. He finds a lone servant , Wiglaf to help him battle the dragon. Wiglaf gets the dragon into the cave and kills it. Beowulf gets...
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...Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Risking one's life is only one of the many traits of the heroic code. Both Beowulf and American soldiers have put their life at risk to help protect the safety of others. The main character, Beowulf, from the story Beowulf has all of these. He is the ideal hero, and is very comparable to our American soldiers. These heroes possess bravery, honor, courage, and strength. One does not outshine the other because they both are performing incredible tasks and putting themselves in danger. The traits that define a hero have not changed since the time of Beowulf to today’s heroes. Beowulf seems to fit into every category of defining a hero. He is strong, loyal, courageous, honorable, generous and the list could go on. All of these traits help define an epic hero. He left his home to seek out danger and help save his neighbors from Grendel. He did this not because he had to, but because of his generosity. He prepared to fight a creature no one before was ever able to defeat. His courage when going out and facing extreme danger made him a hero to the Danes. He not only fought Grendel, but he also fought with the swamp hag and the dragon, and he won both battles....
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...Do you have a hero or role model that you look up to and strive to be like? In Beowulf’s time, he was the hero to many of his warriors and the type of person each of them wanted to be similar to before the end of their lifetime. Heroes like Beowulf had to be willing to face any challenges thrown their way and risk their lives for their people. Beowulf displayed all of these traits while still being respectable, kind, and intelligent. Beowulf was a true epic hero because of his bravery, loyalty to his men, and his strength. Beowulf was viewed as a hero by many because of his super strength and appearance. For example, in lines 109-113, the quote says “In his far-off home Beowulf, Higlac’s follower and the strongest of the Geats – greater and...
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...In the Old English epic, Beowulf, the book’s namesake, (Beowulf), is seen maturing from a young hero, to a wise king, and it is through this progression and growth that the old English bards developed Beowulf’s ultimate goal of eternal glory. From impressively defeating Grendel and liberating the Danes, to the revenge killing of Grendel’s mom, and even later by saving his nation through self-sacrifice, Beowulf captures the heart of those of the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian world to ultimately go down in history forever. Firstly; however, Beowulf had to start as the equivalent of a nobody to us, (the reader), and the world. All that is known is his quest to slay Grendel on accounts of its attacks on the Danish mead-hall, Heorot. “ ‘I come...
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...Beowulf is by far the most epic hero of all times. This is obvious when his super-human strength, loyalty, courage, generosity and reputation are taken into account. Throughout the epic poem, “Beowulf”, he comes upon hideous monsters and the largest of all beasts yet he never shows fear. He uses his immense courage and unshakable strength to put his people ahead of himself. His boast by far triumphs over all others and he uses his experience to lead others. Beowulf repeatedly risks his existence to achieve immortal glory and to build for the good of his people. He embodies all the ideals of his society and is the quintessential Anglo-Saxon man. Beowulf continually puts the welfare of his people ahead of his own. His goal throughout “Beowulf”...
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...In Beowulf there are many symbols and elements. The symbols of Herot hall and Grendel represented all that was good, and all that was evil in the story. There are also many Christian elements in this pagan story. These aspects of the poem are important, but not relevant to today's society. In the poem Beowulf, Beowulf is an epic hero. The poem gives the idea of what a hero really is. Many of these ideas have been carried into modern society, and one person fallows these traits of Beowulf. That is the modern hero of Michael Jordan. Beowulf and Michael Jordan had a surprisingly similar journey. The similarities between Beowulf and Michael start with their fathers. Beowulf's father was a great warrior who had earned a reputation as being strong and courageous; however, Beowulf's father was killed and never saw his son do great things. All of these traits of Beowulf's father are similar to that of Michael's dad. Michael's father, James Jordan, was a great professional baseball player who had earned a reputation as a hustle player and a good lead off man. James was killed later in life, and was never able to see his son do great things. Just like Beowulf's father. It is know that both Beowulf and Michael earned reputations when they were young. Beowulf earned his reputation by killing nine sea monsters, all while competing in a swimming race. Beowulf did go on to lose the race, but earned a great deal of respect in his homeland when his people heard the story. Michael earned his...
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...Epic Hero An epic hero is a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. Beowulf is an epic hero who has an extraordinary amount of great strength. His character in the epic poem shows all of the characteristics that he needs to be an epic hero. The main characteristics of Beowulf are his personality, his great strength and his heroic code. The personality trait that Beowulf contributes to being an epic hero is his humility. This supports him being an epic hero because it shows his humbleness when it comes to how great other people thought he was. He didn't take pride in being the strong and noble person he was. For instance, when Beowulf goes to battle with Grendel, he says he will win if it is God’s will. Here, Beowulf shows how he is not overconfident about himself and he shows how he is trusting in what ever happens, if he wins or loses, that that will be the right thing to happen. Another example of his humbleness and modesty is when Beowulf goes to Herot and approaches the king, Hrothgar, with deep respect. This shows how Beowulf does not have pride in himself. Something an epic hero wouldn't have either. The second characteristic that Beowulf proves to have to be an epic hero is his physical strength. In lines 380-384, it shows how much actual strength Beowulf possesses. Another example would be when he goes into battle with Grendel’s mother. Here, he proves his extraordinary strength when he decides to throw...
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...Beowulf and Heroism When the word hero is spoken or read the understanding is one of bravery and admiration. However, when one speaks of an epic hero, the definition is just a little different. An epic hero is legendary, may be of noble or divine lineage, is usually superhuman in strength, and intelligence. This is the hero of Homer and Ovid, and many ancient poets. This hero is also the image of the main character in the epic poem Beowulf. While Beowulf is of the epic hero of the poem, he is not the only hero for the term hero in early English had many values. Heroes could be kings, noblemen, or commoners, and could be male or female. The hero was one who had the virtues needed to be admired and adored. The main virtues of all heroes are strength, courage and loyalty, but add the superhuman strength and lineage and you get the epic hero. Beowulf, from the very beginning of the poem, is seen to be super human, and is known by Hrothgar, the King of the Danes, and the man Beowulf has come to help (Helterman 2; Sharma 251). It is understood that Beowulf is of noble lineage, and his father Ecgtheow had come to the aid and sworn allegiance to Hrothgar when Beowulf was but a child (Beowulf 372-373). It is because of this allegiance that Beowulf has come to lend his own warriors to the protection of Hrothgar. It is in this same point that the strength of Beowulf is said to be “the strength of thirty/ in the grip of each hand” (Beowulf 380-381). While this beginning shows...
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...Beowulf is one of the epic poems portraying a heroic concept. The Anglo-Saxon time frame used Old English to come forth a generation of literature, which included heroic poetry. Beowulf consists of many characters contributing to the plot of the poem. There are both basic and complex archetypes shown in the poem. The epic poem includes many archetypes but the most dominant ones including the hero, the shadow, and the herald. In the epic poem, Beowulf, the author uses archetypes to develop the plot. The main character Beowulf, displays a superior archetype in the epic poem by being the hero within the story. A hero is defined as one who gets praised for brave acts and Beowulf does exactly that. Beowulf displays this archetype in various ways...
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...amoodie15 A Hero of Epic Proportions A true hero does not fear death itself, but will risk everything for what he believes to be right, moral and just. Epic heroes are defined as a person who has superhuman qualities and embodies the values of a society. Epic heroes possess a strong love for their community, fearless of death, and they are loyal to an individual or a cause. The epic poem Beowulf, written by Burton Raffel, depicts the life of Beowulf, the most heroic person during Anglo-Saxon times. Beowulf is fearful of no monster and seems to conquer every obstacle as if he were immortal. He possess many of the characteristics that make up an epic hero including: courage,physical strength, loyalty,confidence, and wisdom. During Anglo-Saxon times, tales were often told about epic heroes who put their own lives in danger for the greater good. These stories about fearless and honorable warriors provided the common people with a sense of security and provided lessons to young men that they should display honor in every act. Beowulf willingly put himself in danger when he accepted the challenge of fighting the monster, Grendel. He did this only to help the Geats and out of loyalty to the Danes. His actions defined his life and are recounted throughout the epic poem. Beowulf was never afraid of death. Before every battle he would explain his death wishes and request that his assets be delivered to his people. "And if death does take me, send the hammered mail of my armor...
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...Boastful Hero An epic hero is a narrative poem telling the heroic deals of a legendary hero. An epic hero is a hero who fights many battles and loves to brag. In order to be an epic hero they have to have courage, loyalty, and boastfulness. First in the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf was courageous because he fought demons and monsters that many people would be afraid to fight. Beowulf showed courage when he fought three monsters: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. He proves that he is courageous by protecting his people no matter the consequences. He gave up his life when he was fighting the dragon because he wanted to protect his people. The epic hero fought the monsters and demons with no weapons; he only uses his strength, because...
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...The key character in the poem Beowulf, is a heroic and a legendary character whose actions are embodied to the Anglo-Saxon culture. As a hero he has the accepted and the most ideal characteristics that are accepted in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The tale revolves around these characteristics to make up an epic tale. Beowulf is moulded to possess the virtues, traits and beliefs that were highly respected and requires in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Therefore, is displayed to have these virtues in his own actions and words during different circumstances in the tale. Reading Beowulf brings out lots of similarities with many pieces of literature from the Ancient Greek and the Modern literature. The Beowulf carries is similar to many Greek dramas that focused on a protagonist who was turned out to be a tragic hero. There was an element of belief in the gods who had super- human powers and had unique and ultimate special skills of their own, and overcame unsurmountable problems. However, in Beowulf, there is no Greek or Roman gods, but there are other supernatural beings defined as monsters that exist and are difficult to win over. Beowulf is extra-ordinarily strong, agile, and super intelligent. He is portrayed as one who overcomes many obstacles and was able to kill Grendel and his mother and the others in the sea. In addition, the wide character list and meaningful names is similar to those of other types of literature of the early eras. The story of Paradise lost opens in hell. Satan...
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...The Makings of an Epic Hero A true hero does not fear death, but instead risks all he has for what he believes to be right and honorable. Epic heroes are, above all, defined by their action and valor. The anonymous Anglo-Saxon poem “Beowulf” chronicles the legendary tale of an epic hero and his brushes with monsters and demons. Facing foes that are beyond mere human strength, and beyond the power of the Danish warriors, Beowulf uses his extraordinary might to conquer the beasts. Beowulf displays the attributes of an epic hero through his displays of intense courage, strength, and generosity. Courage is the foundation of the warrior culture that Beowulf is a part of. It is necessary for Beowulf to be indifferent to death and meet every challenge with a courage and fearlessness that surmounts any warrior before him. “So warriors earn/ Their fame, and wealth is shaped with a sword” (24-25). Anglo-Saxons awarded and highly valued courage in their warriors. Through courageous deeds, warriors could achieve greatness in society. Beowulf’s ultimate goal is to win glory and immortality in each battle. “And for the first time in his life that famous prince/ Fought with fate against him, with glory/ Denied him. He knew it” (2572-73). Even though Beowulf perishes, he reaches the ultimate level of courage by facing death and battling the dragon. Strength is a constant obsession in the world of Anglo- Saxon warriors. Beowulf is always willing to go to extreme lengths to prove his physical...
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